At a time where Singaporeans are more likely to indulge in panic rather than bubble tea, one man has risen above the fear, ignorance, and xenophobia to write a poem that’ll calm and unite us all.
Secondary School Teacher’s Poem About Covid-19 Goes Viral
Aptly titled “Gone Viral”, the poem was written by Ow Yeong Wai Kit, a literature teacher at Bukit Batok Secondary School.
The poem depicts the different attitudes of Singaporeans towards the Covid-19 outbreak.
It was shared by the Ministry of Education on 22 Feb and has indeed “Gone Viral” with over 1,600 shares at the time of writing.
Twin Cinema
Now, if you’re wondering why this poem looks a little different from the ones you’re used to, that’s because Ow utilized the Twin Cinema form, a form that originated in Singapore.
(Fun fact: the first twin cinema poem was created by Singaporean poet Yeow Kai Chai)
Twin cinema poems can be read in more than one way. The poem is written in two discrete columns, and each column can be read individually from top to bottom or you could read the whole thing from left to right.
Top Left Column – Practice Good Hygiene
The top left column reads:
“we scramble for masks
to ward off
infections and other
hazards
that we need protection from
if we have come into contact with
anyone coughing or sneezing, be on your guard.
wash your hands
regularly
and avoid touching
your face. Because
this virus, considering its severity, is
simply
nothing like what we have seen before.”
As you can tell, this column encourages us to practice good personal hygiene because Covid-19 is not something we should take lightly.
Top Right Column – Paranoia
The top right column reads:
like talismans-
nightmares of
phantoms- masks reveal our fears:
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which arise when we believe
our own delusions.
rumours of
fatality cases would naturally alarm us.
but be slow to judge others. instead,
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clean of prejudice, you can dwell
upon the importance of hygiene.
on the matter of sensitive topics: save
your time spent worrying, which is worse than
the actual threat. all this paranoia is
as lethal as any other pandemic
this is not the last we shall see of it.”
This column, on the other hand, illustrates how paranoia is futile and can even lead to prejudice.
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Top two columns
But the beauty of this poem form is that the two columns can be read together from left to right, emphasizing each column’s message:
“wash your hands clean of prejudice, you can dwell
regularly upon the importance of hygiene.
and avoid touching on the matter of sensitive topics: save
your face. Because your time spent worrying, which is worse than
this virus, considering its severity, is the actual threat. all this paranoia is
simply as lethal as any other pandemic
nothing like what we have seen before. this is not the last we shall see of it.”
Bottom left column – Xenophobia
The bottom left column depicts the xenophobic Singaporeans voices toward Chinese nationals and how this disease has made us discriminate against them:
“some warn: “how can we avoid
foreign
disease-ridden
walking pathogens,
with their nauseating habits,
we can hardly quarantine them all.”
this disease
has truly gone viral”
Bottom right column – Combating xenophobia and ignorance
Conversely, the bottom right column talks about combating ignorance and describes xenophobes as “plagues of terror”.
“media sources that paint
visitors and immigrants as
virus-spreaders? xenophobes are
plagues of terror.
they mask their true intentions.
so the danger remains-
of our own ignorance- until we know what
is fear itself.”
Bottom two columns
When read together, the “nauseating habits” that xenophobes attributed to foreigners now belong to the xenophobes themselves:
“some warn: “how can we avoid media sources that paint
foreign visitors and immigrants as
disease-ridden virus-spreaders? xenophobes are
walking pathogens, plagues of terror.
with their nauseating habits, they mask their true intentions.
we can hardly quarantine them all.” so the danger remains-
this disease of our own ignorance- until we know what
has truly gone viral is fear itself.”
Beautiful.
The importance of empathy
Ow, who was one of six teachers given the Outstanding Youth in Education Award in 2019, explained in a Facebook post that the poem was a “little reflection” which he hoped would “inspire deeper thought about the importance of alternative points of view as well as empathy for others.”
Towards the end of his post, Ow said:
“As someone very dear to me once remarked: ‘If you can’t be kind, be quiet’.”
That’s some great advice right there.
